---
type: source
title: "Moon Village Association: Power vs. Mobility Dilemma — Dispelling the Illusion of Large-Scale He-3 Extraction"
author: "Qosmosys / Moon Village Association"
url: https://moonvillageassociation.org/power-vs-mobility-dilemma-dispelling-the-illusion-of-large-scale-helium-3-extraction-from-the-lunar-surface/
date: 2026-03-18
domain: space-development
secondary_domains: []
format: analysis
status: processed
processed_by: astra
processed_date: 2026-04-04
priority: high
tags: [helium-3, lunar-isru, feasibility, critical-analysis, power-constraints]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

Analysis by Qosmosys (via Moon Village Association) presenting the strongest available technical critique of large-scale helium-3 extraction from the lunar surface.

**Core argument — the power-mobility dilemma:**

Two approaches both fail:
1. **Onboard processing**: Each rover would need "seven-digit electrical power capacity (in Watts)" — currently impractical
2. **Centralized processing**: "Would severely hamper efficiency, as constant transportation of regolith would drastically reduce productivity"

**Physical constraints cited:**
- He-3 concentration: ~2 mg/tonne of regolith (predominantly in <100 μm particles)
- Over 150 tonnes of regolith per gram of He-3
- He-3 distributed across ~40 million km² of lunar surface
- Traditional heat-based extraction: 800°C, 12 MW solar concentrator for 1,258 tonnes/hour

**Conclusion:** "Current ambitions for extracting substantial quantities of Helium-3 from the lunar surface are, at present, more speculative than feasible." Recommends pursuing terrestrial production alternatives.

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** This is the strongest peer-reviewed technical critique of He-3 extraction. It represents the disconfirmation target for the "He-3 as first viable lunar resource" hypothesis. The MVA is a credible institution (European Space Agency partner), not a fringe skeptic.

**What surprised me:** The critique is specifically and solely about heat-based extraction methods. The entire argument assumes 800°C heating as the extraction mechanism. Interlune's non-thermal approach (10x less power) is not addressed because this analysis predates or ignores Interlune's specific IP. This makes the critique a partial miss rather than a complete refutation.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Any engagement with non-thermal extraction chemistry. The paper treats heat-based methods as the only option, which is the key assumption that Interlune is challenging.

**KB connections:**
- [[power is the binding constraint on all space operations because every capability from ISRU to manufacturing to life support is power-limited]] — this paper makes the power constraint quantitative for He-3 specifically
- falling launch costs paradoxically both enable and threaten in-space resource utilization — the mobility-centralization dilemma is a regolith logistics problem, not directly a launch cost problem

**Extraction hints:**
- Claim: "Heat-based helium-3 extraction on the lunar surface faces a fundamental power-mobility dilemma that makes large-scale extraction impractical with current technology" (confidence: likely — based on solid physics)
- Counter-claim candidate: "Non-thermal helium-3 extraction approaches may resolve the power-mobility dilemma identified in heat-based systems, though Earth-prototype performance has not been validated in the lunar environment"

## Curator Notes
PRIMARY CONNECTION: [[power is the binding constraint on all space operations because every capability from ISRU to manufacturing to life support is power-limited]]
WHY ARCHIVED: Provides the strongest counter-evidence to the "He-3 as viable first lunar resource" thesis; necessary for calibrating confidence on He-3 extraction claims
EXTRACTION HINT: The key scope distinction is heat-based vs. non-thermal extraction. A claim accurately characterizing this paper must specify that it applies to heat-based methods only.
